TRENTON – To this point, Trenton’s
season has been chock-full of firsts. On April 18, catcher J.R. Murphy became
the first in team history to club three home runs in one game. Last Sunday,
they used a pair of grand slams – another first – to record all eight runs in
their win over Bowie.

Come Wednesday, when first
baseman Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis join the fray, the Thunder will have
two simultaneous rehabs for the first time in team history.

Teixeira (torn tendon sheath in
his right wrist) and Kevin Youkilis (lumbar spine strain) will both play at Arm
& Hammer Park on Wednesday and Thursday.
Teixeira missed all but five games of spring training before hurting
himself during the buildup to the World Baseball Classic.

Because of that, the New York Post reported
last Friday, Teixeira will need between 50 and 70 at-bats before he’s ready to
be activated. He’s been playing in extended spring training games in Tampa, and
will probably get between 8 and 10 at-bats before the close of Thursday’s
action.

After that, it’s feasible that
Teixeira could follow the Thunder on their trip to Harrisburg, about three
hours away from Trenton. Triple-A Scranton will be in Durham and won’t return
home until June 4, so road games with the Thunder would be the far more
convenient option for continued playing time.

When he gets here, Youkilis will
join Carl Pavano as the only two players to spend time with the Thunder when it
was a Red Sox affiliate and also rehab here during the team’s tenure in the
Yankees system.

The first baseman hit
.344/.462/.500 in 44 games with Trenton in 2002. He returned to Double-A in
2003, but by then the Thunder had changed affiliations and Youkilis instead
played for the Portland Sea Dogs, Boston’s current Eastern League affiliate.

Youkilis’ time with the Thunder
will likely be shorter than his teammate’s. He’s only been on the disabled list
since April 30, and has been playing with Teixeira in extended spring games. It
seems likely that, if everything were to go well, he could be activated as soon
as this weekend.

NOTES: Left-hander Francisco
Rondon, DFAed on Saturday to make room for lefty David Huff on the 40-man
roster, cleared waivers on Tuesday and was outrighted to Trenton. To make room
for him on the roster, righty Danny Burawa was placed on the disabled list with
what the team called left knee bursitis.